Hello and welcome to our Curb Scholars blog! My name is Disa and I’m a junior from Potomac, Maryland. I’m majoring in mathematics, and minoring in scientific computing and Chinese language and culture. I enjoy running, reading the news, and travelling and learning about world cultures and world events. In the near future, I hope to improve my cooking abilities by practicing cooking vegetarian and pescatarian entrees and fruit-based desserts; grow a garden with vegetables and herbs and fruit (my ideal-model-garden is the Washington Youth Garden in the National Arboretum in DC, where I worked a few summers ago); learn the Indian philosophies enlivening yoga and practice physical poses of yoga; and running a half-marathon would be really cool too. I’m also going to be studying abroad in Melbourne, Australia next semester, which I’m really excited about. I’m looking forward to experiencing Australia– living its way-of-life, exploring Sydney and Melbourne, and hopefully learning how to surf!

The deliberate creation of original and organic ideas has never been an easy task. Yet that is what we are here to do at Curb. We are given as many stimuli as possible, taken to some of the farthest, most secluded parts of the landscape, with no purpose at all—simply to get ideas. When no ideas come, we go somewhere else, talk to other people, converse among ourselves, do another brainstorming activity—anything for that spark, that itch, which we can turn into a project, an initiative, a cause.

The beginning of sophomore year has expanded my musical world tenfold compared to the indecisiveness of last year. Throughout this semester, I have taken Intro to Composition, Computer Recording, and other aural performing classes that have allowed my perspective on music school to change for the better. It is not necessarily the quality of courses that have improved, but rather my intensity in approaching musical composition as not only an art, but also a craft and lifestyle. Read More

Though I love serendipity, I’ve also always been a relatively practical person, set on having purpose and meaning behind my larger actions. I think this is a blessing for the most part, but there’s always been a danger of letting that preoccupation with meaning lead into an obsession with function, something only spurred on and inflated by a society that relies on and works in terms of measured results. Read More

I’m more than halfway through college. This, dear readers, is an absolutely terrifying thought. Junior year, as I’ve learned, is a time where you think you’ve done both everything and nothing. Two years of college are under your belt, and if you have a packed schedule like me, it’s easy to think that you can’t fit anything else. And yet, something always calls to you, whether it’s a large requirement or smaller, exciting ideas. In my case, it’s both. Read More

People are not good at talking about themselves. Of course there are exceptions, but a prevalent value in our society is modesty, and being humble is sometimes even a praised trait. On this note, when we, the Curb Scholars, were asked to write a brief biography about ourselves, we struggled. We wondered where the line is between self-flattery and boastful pride. There were mental blocks because after a lifetime full of noteworthy personal experiences and characteristics, it appeared difficult to summarize this in a three-sentence biography.

I felt very good about coming back to Vanderbilt for my sophomore year. I spent a great deal of time during my freshman year adjusting to the various academic challenges while still trying to exercise a social life. I now feel like I have a much better understanding of how to thrive here at Vanderbilt and I’m looking forward to a good year.

During the summer though, I went back to my home country of Kenya and established a startup. This would have to rank as one of the hardest things I’ve done in my life but also one of the most enjoyable. In taking this challenge on, I teamed up with two of my best friends with whom I went to high school. We were united by our one desire to do something great and have an impact by implementing a socially-conscious business.

The college transition hasn’t been quite what I expected. Throughout high school, academic success came to me with little to no extra effort. However, once I arrived at Vanderbilt and started taking tests, I found this to no longer be the case. Academics have begun to feel like an uphill battle. While the academic rigor was a reason for my choosing Vanderbilt, the severity of the challenges I have faced was not fully anticipated. Read More

At the end of this past summer, I completed my first full project with Curb. I had done a few small things around campus and worked in groups to generate ideas, but I hadn’t finished a full-scale creative service project until about three months ago. The project was to create a video that would preview the HOD 1700 course. Read More